Monolithically connected photovoltaic devices on flexible substrates

Abstract

A method of monolithically interconnecting electrical devices that isolates and interconnects the contacts of neighboring electrical devices such as thin film PV cells, without damaging the surrounding materials.

1. A monolithic module comprising:
 a first conducting layer abutting and covering at least one semiconductor layer abutting and covering a second conducting layer abutting and covering a substrate; 
 a first trench penetrating through the first conducting layer to separate a first conducting layer for a first electrical device from a first conducting layer for a second electrical device; 
 a second trench penetrating solely through the at least one semiconductor layer and the second conducting layer to separate a second conducting layer for the first electrical device and a second conducting layer for the second electrical device, wherein the second trench is at least partially filled with a resistive material; 
 a third trench penetrating solely through the at least one semiconductor layer; and 
 an electrically conductive interconnecting material at least partially filling the third trench and providing an electrical current pathway from the first electrical device first conducting layer to the second electrical device second conducting layer, 
 wherein the second trench and third trench are within the boundaries of the first trench, and further wherein the second trench is spaced apart from and occupies an area that is different from the area occupied by the third trench. 
 
     
     
       2. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein both the second and third trenches are within the boundaries of the first trench. 
     
     
       3. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a flexible substrate. 
     
     
       4. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a glass or another non-conductive rigid substrate. 
     
     
       5. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrical devices are configured as a photovoltaic (PV) module. 
     
     
       6. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrical devices comprise photovoltaic (PV) cells configured as a module. 
     
     
       7. The monolithic module according to  claim 6 , wherein at least one PV cell is a multijunction cell. 
     
     
       8. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor layers of first electrical device and the second electrical device each comprise at least one of Cu(In,Ga,Al)(Se,S)2 materials, CdTe, amorphous silicon, microcrystalline silicon, cadmium sulfide, zinc sulfide, or ZnMgO. 
     
     
       9. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the first trench is wider than the second trench and the third trench. 
     
     
       10. The monolithic module according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive interconnecting material is different from other layer materials associated with the monolithically interconnected electrical devices. 
     
     
       11. The monolithic module according to  claim 10 , wherein the conductive material comprises at least one of silver, gold, transparent conductive oxide materials, or conductive polymers.